Buying a home is the single largest investment you’re likely to make in your lifetime. Renovation of your big purchase is often a close second.

To cut costs, many homeowners try to tackle projects themselves or scrimp on finishes to keep the budget in check. In the end, that can lead to costly mistakes.

Regardless if you’re updating the kitchen, finishing the basement or building an addition, there are common gaffs you should avoid to prevent your budget — and blood pressure — from going through the roof.

The pros at Home and Garden Television (HGTV) have put together a list of “25 Biggest Renovating Mistakes” people make when upgrading, expanding or redecorating their homes. Here, we highlight seven of popular blunders:

1. Setting an unrealistic budget.

“I think that people often underestimate what it’s going to cost to do a big renovation and part of that is because they don’t realize the biggest cost in renovation usually is the labour,” says Nancy Soriano, former editor-in-chief of Country Living magazine.

2. Not doing your homework.

“You have to know what you’re getting into,” warns Eric Evans of Don’t Sweat it on HGTV. “Even if you’re not doing the work yourself, know what to look for, what your contractor is doing. That way, you can keep a close eye on the project and know when something’s getting out of hand.”

3. Hiring the wrong contractor.

“You need to make sure that the contractor is right for you because he’s going to be in your home,” warns Jeff Devlin, carpenter on HGTV’s Spice Up My Kitchen.

Before handing over any cheques, make sure you check references and get the details of the work being done in your home in writing.

4. Going too trendy.

“People often make the mistake of wanting to be too hip and trendy in their new home by picking the latest, hottest, coolest things,” says Carmen De La Paz, host of HGTV’s Hammer Heads. “What they don’t take into consideration is that trendy means that it’s short term.”

5. Buying cheap materials.

This will cost you in the end, warns Steve Watson, host of the home-improvement show Don’t Sweat It. “One of the biggest mistakes that people make when it comes to home renovation (is that) they try to be cheap when they buy materials. The bottom line is you’re going to get what you pay for.”

6. Avoiding permits.

“If you do perform work without a permit and something serious happens, your homeowner’s insurance will not cover it,” warns Marc Bartolomeo, the hunky host of Save My Bath.

7. Not doing the prep work.

“It’s a horrible, tedious process and nobody likes it, but it saves so much time later on down the way,” says contractor Jim Collins. “And that’s what you’re trying to do: save yourself time money and time.”

For the full list, go to hgtv.com/home-improvement/25-biggest-renovating-mistakes/index.html

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